Five Pre-64 Model 70 Magnums
- Thread starter Rod
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the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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I like the stock on that 264...the second one though that recoil pad is due for replacing. It's looking pretty dry and old. They make original style replacements right down to the exact stamping on the rear so it will not effect your originality if that is a concern. Nice collection. I'd say you have anything you want to kill covered! 
Spank, you brought up a good point. . The recoil pad on the 300 WM is very important for originality. The pad is actually in very good condition, it was a tad dirty and looked off in the photos.
The 300 WM was available in the pre-64 Model 70 for just a few months, after Feb/1963, and as such are quite rare. . A student of the pre-64 M70 must be careful when purchasing a 300 WM as impostors are out there. . The recoil pad is a dead give away if one is knowledgeable. The later ventilated Winchester pad is different in more ways than the earlier solid red pat. dated pad in that it was installed before the stock was final finished. At a glance it appears to be glued on as no screw holes are evident but when originally installed, at the factory, a very tight incision was made where the horizontal lines meet the smooth part of the pad. . The screws were snuck in there and pad fastened down and the stock final shaped and finish applied. A repro pad or pad removed and replaced becomes quite evident and a good indicator the gun may have been messed with or is not original. .
Here's a photo I just took after I wiped the pad a bit with some household cleaner. . In the photo you can see where the horizontal lines meet the smooth portion of the pad and this is where the factory snuck the top and bottom screws through the pad.
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The 300 H&H has a set of Leupold steel rings and bases. . I and many others have been using those Weaver bases and rings for a very long time and, if properly installed, they work perfectly. As with any rings and bases they must be properly installed.
Great rifles. I was on a pre-64 journey years ago but eventually I only kept two;
- first is a .300 H&H that I saw advertised locally as "an old Winchester, bolt action .300 rifle". Rifle had never had rings or a scope mounted and came with two boxes of Western cartridges. I believe only 8 rounds had been fired. Some dummy had mounted a huge, ugly recoil pad on it but it was/is a sweet rifle to carry and shoot. I replaced the pad with a solid, red, Winchester pad and have never tried to find an original or reproduction one. I don't load it hot but prefer to think of it as a Super .30, which is what the Brits often called the round. The long, 26" barrel just seems to handle better than it should and using Hornady 190 grain bullets and moderate loads, it has accounted for a couple moose and a few deer. I mostly use lighter calibers now but its great to have and to take out once in awhile.
- my second one was found as a .270 with a shortened barrel. I had Ron Smith make a replacement .338 barrel that matched the factory contour, including the rear sight barrel boss and had it chambered in .338-06 RCBS Improved. Its a sweet rifle and shoots well but while it was being built, I found the .300 mentioned above so have never hunted this rifle. I have listed it for sale a number of times but never any takers.
I use mostly Mauser 98 rifles now when using a bolt action but that .300 stands out as special and will stay with me for many more years. The pre-64 rifles are all wonderful rifles and all that I have had shot very well. Thanks for sharing the pics of your rifles Rod. They are classics.
- first is a .300 H&H that I saw advertised locally as "an old Winchester, bolt action .300 rifle". Rifle had never had rings or a scope mounted and came with two boxes of Western cartridges. I believe only 8 rounds had been fired. Some dummy had mounted a huge, ugly recoil pad on it but it was/is a sweet rifle to carry and shoot. I replaced the pad with a solid, red, Winchester pad and have never tried to find an original or reproduction one. I don't load it hot but prefer to think of it as a Super .30, which is what the Brits often called the round. The long, 26" barrel just seems to handle better than it should and using Hornady 190 grain bullets and moderate loads, it has accounted for a couple moose and a few deer. I mostly use lighter calibers now but its great to have and to take out once in awhile.
- my second one was found as a .270 with a shortened barrel. I had Ron Smith make a replacement .338 barrel that matched the factory contour, including the rear sight barrel boss and had it chambered in .338-06 RCBS Improved. Its a sweet rifle and shoots well but while it was being built, I found the .300 mentioned above so have never hunted this rifle. I have listed it for sale a number of times but never any takers.
I use mostly Mauser 98 rifles now when using a bolt action but that .300 stands out as special and will stay with me for many more years. The pre-64 rifles are all wonderful rifles and all that I have had shot very well. Thanks for sharing the pics of your rifles Rod. They are classics.
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the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
Rob;[URL="[URL said:
But then they would lose the classic look of the era those rifles were born in. I never had issues with any weaver bases and rings on my past rifles but then I never hunted them hard or shot them very much. These days I only own two rifles and have hunted deer more in the past two seasons than the first 40 seasons combined. My main rifle nowadays is a Mossberg Patriot Revere in 270 win wearing a Nikon Pro-Staff 5 mounted with Talley rings and bases. I find them kind of wierd looking rings but they function nice and unlike my shotguns I don't care what my rifle looks like so much...only that it kills something when it goes bang!
